Parentless children are vulnerable by four corners. Their needs like education, food, socializations are not properly met and hence they become deviant. Mass media is the main force of making public opinion and socializing people. We get guidance from it in every walks of life. Negative use of it is harmful for youth and especially for teenagers. Usually, those teens and youth who misuse it are found in drug addiction, immoral and unethical activities.
Teenagers learns new techniques of crime from movies, dramas and other related programs. Criminologists in their researches have proved that urban slums and narrow gorges are also sanctuaries of social deviance and crime.
Broken Family and Improper Socialization Family is the first institution teaching norms of social life. Prev Article. Next Article. Related Articles. Deviance Quiz Study Questions. Summary What Is Deviance? Page 1 Page 2. Gender and Deviance In the United States, women who cry in public in response to emotional situations are not generally considered deviant—even women who cry frequently and easily. Cultural Norms and Deviance In Japan, there are strict norms involving the exchange of business cards.
Substance Use and Treatment. Family background. Biological Theories American popular culture contains themes that play upon physical and mental abnormalities as determinants of deviance and crime, especially in the large number of " slasher " movies that abounded in recent decades. During the first half of this century, there were many attempts to develop biological theories of crime.
Here are a few examples:. An Italian physician and prison doctor he was the founder of the field of "criminal anthropology" Gould, After an extensive examination of prisoners' physiology he advanced a theory that criminals were atavists -- that is, throw-backs to an earlier evolutionary human form.
Furthermore, these individuals displayed discernable physiological characteristics that could be used to identify them as deviant. Eventually this theory was debunked when further research was unable to support the claim that prisoners differed in physical characteristics from the the general population of non-criminals. In short, he failed to use a control group in his research. William Sheldon ; Theory of body types and crime 's and s. Sheldon's work advanced the somatotype or "body build" school of criminological theory.
Based upon a study of juvenile delinquents in Boston , MA , Sheldon concluded that the delinquents tended to have muscular and athletic builds. However his theory was refuted by further research which failed to link mesomorphic characteristics with the criminal population. When control groups were used, criminals were no more likely to be mesomorphs than the non-criminal population.
Sheldon's Theory. Chromosomes and Crime XYY In the s with the further development of the science of genetics, attention shifted to the role that genetic structure might plan in pre-disposing people to deviance and crime. It had been noted that a small proportion of males have an extra "Y" chromosome -- These individuals are sometimes referred to as "super males. Again, these findings were based on studies that lacked proper control groups.
It was hypothesized that the extra Y chromosome predisposed them to violent behavior. Media attention was focused on the theory when it was incorrectly reported that Richard Speck, convicted in of murdering eight student-nurses in Chicago , possessed this syndrome. It was later determined that he did not. It was further determined that XYY males are no more likely to commit violent crimes than the normal population of males.
But, this case stimulated an interest in possible genetic bases for deviance that continues today. Functionalism American sociologist, Robert K. Merton developed a theory that focused on strain in society that emerges when individuals and groups desire approved social goals the good things in life , but find themselves unable to attain them through socially approved means. For example, a college education may be the first step in achieving material success in life, but many individuals find this avenue closed to them.
As a result, they may send money off to one of several "diploma mills" in this country that will happily print a "sheep skin" with whatever degree they desire on it! Merton's theory uses "neutral" terminology to describe people who violate social norms to achieve socially approved goals. In the above example, our person holding a "fake" degree would be classified as an "innovator. Merton's Anomie Theory "Crime and Anomie", Merton's theory is broad enough to handle all categories of deviance, ranging from cheating on tests to pre-meditated murder, but are there any problems with it?
Cultural Transmission School Shaw and McKay : Deviant behavior is learned behavior-- passed down from generation to generation. Why does the crime rate in certain city neighborhoods remain high through a succession of ethnic and racial groups that live in them?
Sutherland's Differential Association Theory Sutherland, advanced a theory that specified how cultural transmission takes place, identifying a few key factors:. Chambliss's "Saints and Roughnecks". Sykes and Matza's "Techniques of Neutralization" as justifications for deviant behavior. The role of power and privilege in the criminal justice system. Skip to content What is Deviance? Societal and Situational Deviance Plummer discusses two aspects of defining deviance, using the concepts of societal deviance and situational deviance.
Whether or not an act is seen as deviant often depends on: The historical period — definitions of deviance change over time in the same society as standards of normal behaviour change. The context dependency of deviance The context dependency of deviance simply refers to the idea that deviance is socially constructed — whether or not an act is seen as deviant depends on the historical period, the place, and the group witnessing the act.
The context dependency of deviance can be illustrated by a simple example: Wearing a mini skirt is Deviant in Saudi Arabia:. Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Previous Previous post: What is Crime?
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